Voluntary and faith groups meet with local Borough Chief Executives

The Rector of All Saints and one of All Saints' churchwardens were among those who attended a gathering last week of voluntary and faith groups from Bracknell and Wokingham. The meeting was organised by the two boroughs' joint voluntary sector network and support agency Involve. 

The main speakers at the meeting were the two Borough Council Chief Executives. They explained the challenges to be faced as planned central government funding for local authorities has been and will be further significantly reduced. Local authorities have made and will continue to make efficiency savings and will continue to focus their resources on supporting core services and the most vulnerable in our boroughs. To sustain community provision  going forward a new level and scale of voluntary involvement will be needed. The Chief Executives signalled greater flexibility in the way the local authority would work with voluntary groups to provide services. Concerns expressed by delegates of the voluntary sector groups present were about funding sources; the possibility of needless competition between different voluntary groups and duplication, and the importance and difficulty of finding adequate resources for work on the prevention of health and social problems.